Promise Me A Return
by Aria Aves
Summary: "Goodbye, Ben Finn," her words were hushed when she spoke them and only heard by her companion, the dog. "Be sure to come back…" Ben Finn/Princess fluff or friendship. Post-game spoilers.


Promise Me a Return

Disclaimer: I don't own Fable 1, 2, or 3. But if I did...err nevermind.

A/N: Fable one-shot that takes place soon after the ending of the game, so **MAJOR SPOILERS**! And also Princess/Ben Finn fluff. Or not? It can be seen as a friendship or a romance. Maybe both? Really depends on what you want, but weighs heavily on fluff.

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Nonetheless, enjoy it!

The servants and guards were bustling within the castle despite the saddening atmosphere hanging in the air. The war had been successful and the Crawler had fallen by the hands of the Queen, but with many causalities suffered. Among those who were lost was Walter, and now his statue was perched up in the royal garden overlooking the Bowerstone that he had died saving. But everyone felt his loss, especially those who were close to the old man like his student and fellow soldiers as they sent grieving glances at the statue.

She was proud though. The Queen was proud, as was Walter taking his final breathes. The war was won and now they could rebuild, leaving the deaths and the shadows behind just like bitter, cruel memories. And with Albion being brought back from the darkness, those who were once loyal to their word (and forever shall be) would depart on new travels or to rejoin those they left behind.

Her friends all stood before her in honor of her late teacher and uttered their farewells kindly.

Sabine would leave to be with his people, the Dwellers and his mountains.

Kalin would do the same with newfound security the new monarch had so kindly delivered and lead those who had been oppressed by the Crawler into the refreshing light.

Page would go back to Bowerstone, serving the people who still infested the poor, broken crevasses of the city, carrying little to no hope with them

Logan, a broken man with the shadow of a tyrant still hanging over him, was to leave the land he wronged and disappear to nowhere.

Ben Finn…well, Amelia wasn't sure what his true intentions were, but he would travel again. Or "help" Page as he jokingly put it.

And the Queen would be alone with her crown and power clutched within her battle worn palms. They would abandon her and leave the glories of a revolution and the pains of war with her.

So she sat on her throne, dressed plainly and unfashionably with a heavy frown. The uncomfortable warmth of her seat didn't soothe her dark thoughts, but the solitude of an empty room made up for that. There would be no trials or court sessions she needed to attend as she denied all, along with any appearances to the public. It was a time of mourning and it would be inappropriate to carry out life so normally, or she would tell herself and her servants. It was a lie of course. As the ruling monarch many things were to be expected of her at a time like this, but as a woman – a human, they didn't expect anything because they didn't see her as such.

As a Queen, she would hold back her tears and pull at the strings that oh-so delicately held up her bleeding heart.

As a woman, she felt lost and confused without her mother and father, the former King and Queen, to seek confidence in and saddened without a brother to shield her small figure behind.

As a human, Amelia wished nothing more but to be simple as a servant; as powerless as a famer; as free as a bird.

She wanted all of that and was silently denied it the day the blind seer spoke of her fate on brash, naïve ears. And now it was only her own well being, the furry creature lying at her feet, the deathly silence of the throne room and her thoughts she sought refuge in. At a moment like this the world was dead her. Enough so that the sound of opening doors fell upon dead ears.

"Well, look at this! The lovely Queen looking like an everyday barmaid! What a sorry sight this is." Amelia had learned not to snap to attention when caught off-guard so she gazed up, acknowledging the unannounced visitor.

The appearance of Ben brought her from the clouded thoughts of mind and into a happy ray of surprise. "Shut up, Ben," Amelia she snorted and smiled while the solider grinned back at her, "Ah, music to my ears," The phrase, once uttered by Walter, felt so kind coming from her lips as strange as it seemed to prying eyes.

Her delighted expression of surprised glee diminished rather quickly though when Amelia's face changed to a disapproving scowl and said with an equally disapproving tone, "What are you doing here?"

He "humph"-ed and shrugged, "Is that any way to greet a friend, my lady?" Ben wanted to grin even more at her reaction, but Amelia ignored the comment and pursued her question with a hard, long stare. How predictable of her, the man thought monotonously before he sighed, giving in rather quickly. "Fine, fine. Geez, not even a "Oh, Ben! How are you?" or "Ben! How I've missed you!" and falling into my arms –"

"Yes, because you can simply imagine me falling into your arms just at the sight of you."

"—or a hug? Always the rude one, aren't you?" Amelia couldn't help but roll her eyes. And she was grateful for it; just seconds ago she was moping. "Answer the question, Mr. Finn. Or it'll be "off with his head" very soon, dear boy," she teased.

Ben wiggled his eyebrows at the possibility of being headless. She was kidding, of course, but you never know with this one, he wanted to mutter. "We'll I thought I'd stop for a visit before heading of to Aurora with Kalin. And besides," Amelia felt the snide comment coming at any moment, "The maids were worried that all your wallowing would make the room go…black."

Had she been here for that long? Surely, it couldn't have been an hour or more, but Walter did always say that time got away from her when she was thinking (which prompted many unsaid, nasty comments about her so-called "sharp mind"). But then again she told Hobson she would be down in her parents' tomb and whished not to be disturbed….

Amelia caught on quite quickly for someone who spends time "thinking". She smirked a little and propped her hand on her chin, leaning in a little from her seat, "You lie terribly-so, Ben Finn. Now, seriously – what are you doing? You said your goodbyes already."

Ah, the moment at the royal gardens. She was right; all the goodbyes had been heard and there was nothing more to say. No need for him to be standing here. But if there was no reason, why did he look up at her the way he was now and not smile the way he did whenever he casted a sarcastic remark? It was a bit confusing from her point of view, but for Ben, it certainly wasn't.

Whatever sign of a joke or a playful insult disappeared and he stood silent for a moment before he finally spoke, "You know I was serious about what I said? I'm not cut out to be a general. And without Swift, the army just isn't my cup of tea right now."

Amelia's mouth tightened into a line and her kind eyes narrowed with instinctive worry. "Yes, I remember that. But Ben–"

"I'm still going to travel, you know. See Aurora and all…" His posture changed a little as if he was trying to be casual and having a problem at doing so, Amelia noted. "Then I thought about what all that traveling and seeing the world will do. I'll just stop when I've seen so much and eventually get pulled into something illegal…"

She pitied the man ever so slightly. He had no home to return – or none that she knew of, at least. From what scraps of information and gossip she picked up during her time in Mourningwood, he was just a man with no family other than his friends and fellow soldiers. Most of which lie dead, Amelia added grimly. "Swift wouldn't have wanted that," she softly stated. Major Swift was a bit…_jolly_, but he was a good man and wouldn't have wanted someone like Ben falling into bad times again. And she couldn't agree more. "What will you do?" she asked finally, her voice still barely audible.

Ben began to stutter a little bit and became more uncomfortable while rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. This was something that went undecided for many years. What would he do? He often wondered. The harmless idea of getting married and having little ones of his own crossed his mind more than once, but the thought was something that every man he knew pondered over. Most made their decisions and left the army for their children or found sweethearts on leave that would wait wordlessly for them. Surely Ben could have that with his familiarity and love for big families, but the idea was…well, the correct word wouldn't be as insulting as "boring" nor would it be as straight forward as "predictable". In the end, he never made his choice and now he was standing before his queen, searching for something to say.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He said it so plainly and quietly, she wondered if Ben really uttered a word and her worry deepened at that.

The Queen took a moment to stand and step a little closer despite the strange mixture of emotion, riddled across the soldier's brow. She titled her head and carefully let out a "…Finn?" while waiting for him to say something.

A sense of defeat befell him in a hurried wave and he gave into it quickly. A sigh escaped him and his shoulders fell while he turned his usual joking chatter to dead silence that previously filled the throne room.

Amelia, the Queen, watched him as his mouth twitched and his hands became restless when they stirred from their previous position at his sides to scratching his chin and then to the back of his neck. She herself felt the small rustles of her dog at the heels of her boots and the growing uneasiness nipping at the bottom of her stomach, _fluttering_ while doing so.

"Is something wrong, Ben?" she urged a little more. This unusual behavior was unnerving, for the both of them.

In an effort to regain his composure, he cleared his throat and lifted his head to meet the brown eyes of Albion's ruling monarch. He began to look for the words with the teasing worry of many troubles toying in his head at an alarming rate, "Well, you see you're Majesty. I…uh…my travels will eventually come to an end, and…"

The amusing factor entered their conversation again, or at least for Amelia it did. The poor man stuttering and stumbling for words was just too good of a sight for the Queen to resist; she did after all have a sense of humor. "Yes Ben? Are you trying to same something?" she went on playfully.

For a brief moment, his stumbling stopped and he looked at her awkwardly and replied, his voice a bit heavy, "I will return one day. I just wanted to make that clear, but I'm…not sure that'll I have anything to return _to_."

_Ah_…So that's what he's been pondering about? The Queen bluntly thought in her new-found wordlessness. Her glance did not leave their intended target as she thought over his words. Curiously, her expression did not change very much – she looked as neutral as always, so for Ben there were no indicators as to what was spewing inside her mind. Not that he really wanted to know, but some sort of reaction would do some good on his part.

"Very well then, Ben," Amelia said flatly, but slowly. With a small wave of relaxation passing through the Queen, her endearing smile sat well on her barely pristine face. She looked at him modestly. Charm and friendly mockery was present in her voice when she said, "Your puppy-eyes are no match for my superior position so I must submit. I will oblige to your unspoken plea and I _promise _that I'll welcome you when you return from…wherever you're going. Are you pleased now?"

If it weren't for her teasing nature, Ben might have been baffled at her reply. Whatever uneasiness he carried disappeared and his eyes narrowed a tad in a joking fashion and he grinned. "I am pleased, milady. But don't I get a castle? Maybe gold? I need something to look forward to."

After a roll of her brown eyes and a snort, she squealed with overdone and pretend excitement, "Then…How about several metals and shiny, golden badges in your name, Mr. Finn? Or better yet, I'll make you a general and when the next war arises, you'll have the honor of riding into oblivion at my side! How does that sound, Ben?"

Ben scoffed at that. "Ha! Why not throw in a new horse and your crown while you're at it!" Yes, being a general was just _too_ ill of a thought for him. Enough so that he threw his arms into the air and hollered, "Fine, fine! I give in; I'll settle for the welcome, only."

Amelia laughed at this and the dog at her feet barked at her high spirits. Her cheeks tingled with joy and her eyes brightened when she began to still. Ben, himself, did not laugh and instead moved one foot closer to the steps in front of him and bent down, bowing with a hand over his chest to the monarch of Albion. His eyes darted straight up and hers looked down at him. "Until then, Queen Amelia," he breathed out.

It was only minutes later that he departed from the room and the Queen watched his retreating figure venture beyond the grand doors. She sighed, tiredly. The dog near her feet whined at the now-gone Ben Finn. Amelia patted his furry head, lovingly and sat down on her throne in her simple clothes and heavy heart only to return to the solace that was her throne room.

"Goodbye, Ben Finn," her words were hushed when she spoke them and only heard by her companion, the dog. "Be sure to come back…"

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A/N: Terrible? Very. I hate the dialogue, but meh…live and learn. I'm pretty sure that I've done a bad job of editing, so I'm used to making corrections after people comment on my other stories on a different site, so if you review, I won't mind you pointing out my mistakes.

Aside from that, I adore the name Amelia and, yeah, I know that Lucien´s daughter was also named Amelia. I assure you: same name, different people – and different parents, while we're at it….

I suppose that's all, folks.


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